这位妈妈正在抖音分享她的出生故事，以提高对出生创伤的认识

当我怀上我的儿子时，我非常兴奋成为一名母亲。我尽我所能去准备。我读了所有的书，问了所有的问题，研究了我的出生想要什么。我准备了长时间的分娩，宫缩和疼痛，以及潜在的剖腹产。然而，我没有准备在生孩子的时候几乎死去，也没有准备好与他最终相遇的战斗。

The Day My Life Changed

在儿子分娩的时候，我扩张了10厘米，当我告诉护士我不舒服的时候，我准备推。我尖叫着说我的心脏出了问题，几秒钟后就崩溃了，心跳呼吸停止了。我丈夫立即抓住我，拼命想叫醒我。一个蓝色代码被调用，我的房间里挤满了试图拯救我和我的孩子的生命的人。

一切发生得太快了。我在不到60秒的时间里走出房间，进入手术室。我的儿子卡拉汉（卡尔)在我的代码发出后不到六分钟就被送来了，而我的护理团队对我进行了心肺复苏术。

我的OB-GYN、莫杰德萨贝林、医学博士，与Axia妇女健康，几乎立即意识到我正在经历羊水栓塞(AFE)，并迅速采取行动。

羊水栓塞是一种罕见的、不可预测的产科急症，大约每40,000例分娩中只有一例发生。"当羊水进入母亲的循环系统并引起过敏样反应时，就会发生这种情况，"莫杰德萨博林博士后来向我解释道。这种感觉像是一种即将到来的厄运感、胸闷、呼吸困难和恶心。许多经历过羊水栓塞的女性没有任何明显的风险因素。然而，胎盘异常、妊娠高血压引起的癫痫发作以及羊水栓塞病史等因素会增加风险就像我自己的情况一样，我也知道羊水栓塞后的前五分钟对生存至关重要。

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d barely able to speak. Doctors explained to my family, "The baby is fine, but Kayleigh is not. She had an amniotic fluid embolism, and we're doing everything we can to save her life." Following my emergency C-section, my heart and lungs were failing, so I was placed on ECMO, a respiratory machine that acts as your heart and lungs. My clinical team couldn't stop the bleeding, so a hysterectomy was performed, and over 140 units of blood were transfused.

Kayleigh Summers in the hospital. Kayleigh Summers in the hospital. | Credit: Courtesy of Kayleigh Summers

My Road To Recovery

Over the next several hours, more than 50 medical professionals used every ounce of their knowledge to bring me back from the brink of death several times. I know every individual has to choose the birthing plan that's right for them. For me, without the skilled physicians and staff at Paoli Hospital, where I delivered, I know without a doubt I would not be here today.

My journey continued for several more days while still on ECMO and a ventilator. I was transferred to another hospital, Lankenau Medical Center outside of Philadelphia, where I received a small heart pump (Impella) to help my heart recover. It wasn't until five days later that I was able to meet my son for the first time, although I have no memory of it.

Just 14 days after my AFE and Callahan's birth I was sent home to be with my family. I owe my life to my amazing medical teams. They never gave up on me and I will be forever grateful to them for giving me the opportunity to be a mom.

• RELATED: 11 Things You Can Do to Better Empower Yourself in Pregnancy, Birth, and the Postpartum Period

Kayleigh Summers, her child, and Dr. Saberin. Kayleigh Summers, her child, and Dr. Mojdeh Saberin. | Credit: Courtesy of Kayleigh Summers

Turning Crisis Into Opportunity

It's been a little over two years since my AFE and Callahan's birth. But I knew I needed to do something. I wanted to raise awareness for AFE, while also using my knowledge as a therapist to help those who have experienced birth trauma. There's a complex set of emotions that occur when someone experiences trauma on a day that was promised to be one of the best days of their lives. So, I created a social media community, where I'm known as The Birth Trauma Mama, to support birth trauma survivors and to educate on AFE.

Since I built the community in January 2020, I've supported hundreds of new parents as they process the complex emotions related to a traumatic birth. My TikTok videos describing my story have helped medical professionals better understand a patient's perspective and be more prepared if this rare complication were to present in their unit. While I hope no person has to experience what I did, I am grateful to be here today and to share my knowledge and support with other birth trauma survivors.